Why are we asking this now? The Barracks is a dream site for any developer who might be a descendent of Croesus, the fabulously wealthy king of Lydia, circa 550BC. The site covers more than five hectares of one of London's fanciest sites, close to the river and directly opposite Wren's Royal Hospital. In the Croesus stakes, few families are wealthier than the royal clan of Qatar, one of whose companies, Qatari Diar, bought the Barracks jointly with CPC Group, operated by the Candy brothers, for £950m last year. Prince Charles dislikes their scheme for the site, designed by Lord Rogers' practice, Rogers Stirk Harbour, and has apparently quilled a note to Qatar's rulers, asking them to use another architect.

There's no getting past the name. And there's a faint disappointment that Slaughter is not a reference to a bloodied battlefield or even an abattoir; it is actually a confused local stab at speaking French. William the Conqueror gave this corner of the Cotswolds to the Norman knight Philip de Sloitre and his reward was to have his name massacred.